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A review by mcoussens
Everything in Its Place by Oliver Sacks
4.0
Written by an author who has published in The New Yorker and other prestigious places, you may recognize his name from his book and subsequent movie "Awakenings". In this collection of his essays, most emphasize the human condition of various neurological medical situations. While I appreciated the writing, I most enjoyed his essay "Libraries" because of my love of them and my similar mourning of the loss of the printed word.
In "The Lost Virtues of the Asylum", I was fascinated by his description of the Flemish town of Geel, where for centuries, it has been the norm there for town residents to take in or adopt a boarder, including those with psychiatric conditions where such "outpatients" are also able to take part in supervised jobs or day programs with access to therapists and social workers, in addition to their host families. The town's unique approach brings such human dignity that it is a shame that it remains an isolated experiment rather than more common practice worldwide.
While this book was published in 2019, Sacks passed away in 2015. He notes in one essay his use of various sizes and shapes of magnifying glasses because of his failing vision (and he ended up with a melanoma in one of his eyes, which obstructed his vision). It reminded me of the last time I saw my own mother, when I was struck by her use of a magnifying glass. I thought she had been using it to avoid purchasing glasses. Now that I read Sack's description and reasons for using them, I realize that I was likely wrong in my assumption.
In "The Lost Virtues of the Asylum", I was fascinated by his description of the Flemish town of Geel, where for centuries, it has been the norm there for town residents to take in or adopt a boarder, including those with psychiatric conditions where such "outpatients" are also able to take part in supervised jobs or day programs with access to therapists and social workers, in addition to their host families. The town's unique approach brings such human dignity that it is a shame that it remains an isolated experiment rather than more common practice worldwide.
While this book was published in 2019, Sacks passed away in 2015. He notes in one essay his use of various sizes and shapes of magnifying glasses because of his failing vision (and he ended up with a melanoma in one of his eyes, which obstructed his vision). It reminded me of the last time I saw my own mother, when I was struck by her use of a magnifying glass. I thought she had been using it to avoid purchasing glasses. Now that I read Sack's description and reasons for using them, I realize that I was likely wrong in my assumption.